November 22, 2024
Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images
A.J. Brown will have a significant size advantage over the Rams' cornerbacks.
After soundly beating the Washington Commanders Week 11, the Philadelphia Eagles will continue on with their most difficult portion of their schedule when they travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams Week 12. Here are our five things to watch.
DeVonta Smith missed practice both on Wednesday and Thursday, so there's at least some mystery whether he'll play or not on Sunday. Tim McManus of ESPN shot video of Smith after the Eagles' win over the Commanders last Thursday, and he was clearly not 100 percent.
This was DeVonta Smith walking off the field Thursday. He was on the report last week with a hamstring injury. https://t.co/bS7XHuvORn pic.twitter.com/KzNykM6hy9
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) November 20, 2024
So, we'll see. If Smith plays and isn't hampered by his injury, the combo of him and A.J. Brown should pose major problems for the Rams' small corners. Their starters are Darious Williams (5'9, 187) and Cobie Durant (5'11, 180), who should be at a disadvantage against contested catch artists like Brown and Smith.
As a team, the Rams' pass defense hasn't been very good this season:
| Rams pass D | Stat | Rank |
| Opposing passing yards / game | 222.8 | 22 |
| Opposing completion % | 66.4% | 21 |
| Opposing YPA | 7.5 | 30 |
| Opposing passing TDs per game | 1.8 | 25 |
| Opposing passer rating | 97.9 | 21 |
The Eagles have fared better against teams that struggle stopping the run (the Rams are average in that department), so we'll see if Jalen Hurts and the Eagle passing attack can have a breakout game through the air.
Update: Smith is out.
The strength of the Rams defense is their defensive line, notably their young edge rushers. Second-year pro Byron Young leads the team with 6 sacks, after posting 8 sacks as a rookie in 2023. Jared Verse has 4.5 sacks, which is certainly good for a rookie, but also isn't indicative of how good he has been so far this season.
Verse is currently the favorite to win NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors (Quinyon Mitchell is second). He is primarily a power rusher who has counters off of his power.
thought jared verse (#8) really flashed as a rusher vs the bears
— charles (“you look good” - andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) September 30, 2024
first 3 rushes of the game. power, power, speed to get around and force a pressure.
second clip later in the game. bull rush still a threat, so eventually hit the push-pull counter. this is a thinking man's game pic.twitter.com/6eA2CHSNVt
On the other side, Young has 4 straight games with a sack, but Lane Johnson has consistently dominated far better players over his career, and he is having an All-Pro caliber season.
Aaron Donald is gone, but the Rams have done a good job replacing him with quality players, notably rookie Braden Fiske and second-year pro Kobie Turner, who have 5 sacks apiece.
Fiske is long and lean, at 6'5, 295, and he has great athleticism.
He can get home in a hurry:
Braden Fiske. 3rd quickest pressure in the league so far this season. Blew this shit up. Blink and you might miss it. pic.twitter.com/FrversiHRR
— Rams Bros. (@RamsBrothers) November 20, 2024
Turner is undersized at 6'3, 288, and as you might imagine for a smaller guy he too is an athletic DT.
In addition to employing the best OT tandem in the NFL, the Eagles have a great interior as well. However, it's perhaps worth noting that Landon Dickerson and Mekhi Becton are more susceptible to speed guys than power guys.
The Rams' defensive line starters, and their draft positions:
• Jared Verse: 2024, Round 1
• Byron Young: 2023, Round 3
• Braden Fiske: 2024, Round 2
• Kobie Turner: 2023, Round 3
That's a group that the Rams should feel great about, long-term, but in this matchup it's strength on strength.
"I think they have done an excellent job of evolving this year, building off of the scheme they have had in place for a number of years," Kellen Moore said. "Credit to them. As Aaron Donald has left, they have transitioned into a little bit of a different structure just because of what they have on the defensive line. I think they have a really, really talented defensive line, a bunch of young guys that are playing extremely well. High level. They give you a lot of different looks, a lot of different presentations. Which can be challenging throughout the week, just as you get comfortable anticipating going against these guys. These guys are playing really, really good football right now."
Kupp and Nacua form one of the best wide receiver tandems in the NFL. Both players have been banged-up this season, but are healthy now.
"They really have good [chemistry], both of them, with Stafford," Vic Fangio said. "They are strong at the catch point. Both of them are strong receivers. Both are excellent runners after the catch. They have played, I don't know how many games, but more than a few without either one of them. For them to be at this point in the season with the injuries they have had speaks highly of their players and their coaching staff. Now they are back pretty much to full strength offensively and they will be a tough group to defend."
Kupp is a volume receiver who has 47 catches for 488 yards and 4 TDs in 6 games. In 2021, he had the second-most catches in a single season in NFL history, when he had 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 TDs. He hasn't been that level of player since, but is still a very good receiver.
Nacua had the most receiving yards by a rookie in NFL history last season, when he had 1,486 yards and 6 TDs on 105 catches. In 5 games this year, he has 28 catches for 373 yards and 1 TD. He had a breakout game against the Patriots Week 11, when he had 7 catches for 123 yards and a TD.
In years past, Eagles fans might look at this matchup and think, "Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, Matthew Stafford... Uh oh! 😬." But in 2024, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have been major upgrades over James Bradberry and (take your pick of whoever has played in the slot for them in recent years).
Of course, the Rams as a team pose problems for opposing defenses with their heavy use of pre-snap motion.
"No. 1, we've got to be able to react to it and adjust to it correctly," Fangio said. "They do motion a lot at various tempos, and they are trying to get you out of position and back on your heels a little bit. We've got to be ready for it and be able to play correctly and not let the motion confuse us at all."
Due to an assortment of injuries, the Rams have had nine offensive linemen start games this season. I started to try to piece together how their offensive line configurations have developed over the season, but in the interest of keeping you all from having your eyes glaze over, let's just look at what their starting lineup looked like Week 11:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Alaric Jackson | Steve Avila | Beaux Limmer | Kevin Dotson | Warren McClendon |
Notes, from left to right:
• Jackson has been good this season after missing the first two games due to suspension. He may get a contract extension ahead of 2025 free agency.
• Avila is a second-year pro who I liked coming out of college. Wide-body guy, at 6'3, 332, but with some athleticism.
• Limmer is a sixth-round rookie. There's some opportunity to get a pass rush against him.
• Dotson is a solid fifth-year pro, better run blocker than pass protector.
• McClendon likely won't start if regular starting RT Rob Havenstein returns from his ankle injury, or if Joe Noteboom is able to return from his ankle injury. If McClendon starts, that is an obvious area of concern for the Rams in this matchup.
Despite having a patchwork O-line for most of the season, the Rams have somehow only allowed 21 sacks, 8th best in the NFL. Matthew Stafford is getting the ball out from snap to throw at an average time of 2.77 seconds. That's slightly quicker than average.
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